Follow Me Farm

10/10/2026

10/09/2026

You don’t rehome your old dog. You don’t rehome your spouse as they age. You don’t rehome your friends if they get injured. Please have that same respect towards the horse who literally carried you for years.

PSA: Stop deciding your horse is too expensive to keep now that you can’t ride him anymore.

I get it. Horses are expensive. Board is expensive. Hay is expensive. Vet bills are expensive. I understand and am knowledgeable in the costs of the industry.

But if I get one more message from someone asking me to take their horse because he’s retired and can’t be ridden anymore, I’m going to explode. 🤯

You’ve had no problem figuring out how to pay his bills when he was rideable. Why is he suddenly too expensive to keep now that he’s not?

I get it. You want the money to get another horse that you can ride. As someone who has a knack for finding horses with medical issues who can’t be ridden, I get the disappointment and sadness of not being able to ride your horse.

But that’s not his fault. And it’s not his fault it costs a lot to keep him.

👏 you made a commitment to an animal 👏

See. It. Through.

You don’t rehome your dog because he gets too old to go on long walks anymore. You buy him an orthopedic bed and cuddle him on the floor when he’s too weak to jump on the bed anymore.

It’s not your horse’s fault hay is expensive. And it’s not his fault he can’t be ridden anymore. He gave you his all for years.

You don’t need to find a retirement home for him.

You need to give him one.

This is not about people who are facing legitimate financial hardship in these insane times. This is about the people who don’t want to pay for a horse as soon as that horse can no longer “fulfill their obligation.”

Conditional love is a bad look. Enjoy the golden years with your friend. They’re some of the most magical years of a horse’s life.

09/16/2026

It’s probably worth considering what type of “employer” you are

If you’re going to refer to what your Horse does for you as them “having a job,” then it’s probably worth consider considering what type of employer you are.

Because, if we are going to draw a parallel to distinctly human activities, such as working a job, let’s also look at what that job provides for the Horse.

“I buy them food and take care of them and shelter them.”

Wonderful. We’re not counting that because you chose to take on an animal that effectively requires you to be their dependent to survive.

Using this to try to justify what work you ask your Horse to do is akin to a parent acting like their child owes them something because they birthed them.

As soon as you choose to get an animal, you are signing up for the parts that come with taking care of the animal.

For humans, we have the choice to opt out of work.

If we exist in a toxic work environment, we can quit the job.

Most horses don’t have this option.

Their “bosses” can yell at them, hit them, withhold food and otherwise neglect their communication and needs.

If a human was treated this way in a workplace environment, it would be perceived as abusive and toxic.

Because it is.

So if, for your horse, you are the type of employer that feels entitled to their labour without offering anything in return, you are a toxic employer.

Your horse is in an abusive work environment.

We are not entitled to their labor.

In fact, I would argue that we are in a massive debt to horses for the labour that they have offered us over the course of centuries.

They have built entire civilizations for us. They have made the lives that we have today possible.

As a thank you, we should be becoming more considerate instead of more entitled.

If you are going to call yourself your horse’s “employer” be a good one, instead of the type that works them in a way that’s much more akin to forced labour.

It shouldn’t be so frowned upon to reward horses with things they want when they do things we want them to do.

That’s payment for a job, why are people so mad about it?

Anyways, the horse industry has a lot to answer to because let’s be blunt:

Horses aren’t the only ones who experience toxic work environments. Taking advantage of people and mistreating human employees is also rampant in this industry.

So, it’s time to do better.

09/14/2026

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09/09/2026

🐎🦁🦓🐆🐊🦛🦧

Curious about trying food in your horse training?
If elephants, tigers, and even hippos can learn complex husbandry behaviours with food… why not horses?

🐘 African Elephants: The largest land mammal, have been trained to take injections and many other husbandry behaviours through clicker training.

🐻 Bears: With a bite force of over 1,200 PSI, have been trained to have their teeth cleaned and to give hair and blood samples.

🐯 Tigers: With claws 4 inches long, have been trained to back up their tails into their handler for injections and to accept fly spray on their ears.

🦓 Zebras: Who can kill lions with a single kick, have been trained to voluntarily walk onto a scale, stand still, and get weighed.

🦛 Hippos: The world’s deadliest mammal, have been trained to have their teeth brushed and undergo dental checks.

🦧 Chimpanzees: With 5 times the arm strength of a human male, have been taught to get their temperature checked and teeth inspected.

🦒 Giraffes: The tallest mammal in the world, have been trained to have their hooves handled and trimmed.

These behaviours are taught by pairing a specific action with something the animal values, often food. This helps them understand exactly what’s being asked and makes participating in their own care a positive experience. Training begins with small, achievable steps and builds gradually to more complex skills.

In many cases, the first sessions are done in protected contact, where a safe barrier allows the animal to feel comfortable and the trainer to work without risk. This isn’t unique to zoos, most R+ horse trainers also start this way.

When training without protected contact, the first priority is not the behaviour, it’s teaching CALM, thoughtful interaction around food.

We have horses trained for liberty injections (intramuscular or subcutaneous without restraint), taking oral syringes, placing their hooves on stands, showing their teeth and allowing tongue/mouth handling for daily checks, accepting eye care, volunteering for bandage changes and wound treatment, and even asking for fly spray.

If these larger, stronger, and more dangerous animals can be trained safely with food, imagine what’s possible for your horse. 🐴✨

Want to see these behaviours in action? I’ve linked real-life examples in the first comment.

Inspired by Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin.

08/19/2026

Horses are so much more than a furry 4-wheeler!

“I work for a living, so should my horse!”

This mindset is a toxic way that people project their own frustration with their lives onto their horses.

It is used to justify forcing horses who are clearly uncomfortable, stressed and anxious to do things on the basis that:

“They only have to work for 1 hour a day and then have their whole lives paid for!”

Meanwhile, many of these horses have the following to look forward to after their ride:

- A “luxury” stall with boarded up walls and no ability to interact with other horses. Standing in here for anywhere from 12 to 24 hours a day.

- Individual turnout with no ability to so much as touch noses with other horses.

- Often going hours a day without access to forage, putting them at risk of stomach ulcers.

The “paid for life” is often more comparable to a prison sentence than anything else.

And, with all that said, as humans who choose to seek out getting a horse, we do not to get to leverage the fact that we pay for their needs as a reason to force them to do things when they are struggling.

In choosing to get a horse, we take on the responsibility of ensuring that we are providing what they need to survive.

It is something we willingly take on, not something to complain about.

And it is something that is our job to do, whether we can use the horse for sport or not.

Anyone who has the impression that a horse needs to be physically useful for them in order to deserve them paying for the care should not have a horse.

Because, your willingness to cover your horses expenses, and provide their needs should exist whether you are riding them or not.

This very type of attitude is behind how discardable horses are.

It is very normalized for people to get rid of horses when they no longer serve the purpose of riding.

It is selfish, irresponsible, and unacceptable to normalize the idea that it is appropriate to no longer have horses hold any value when they cannot be ridden.

It is also egotistical and selfish to maintain the perspective that a Horse owes you something when you have ultimately chosen to get them.

If you value your horse more as a tool than you do as a companion, that will come out in how entitled you feel to using their body, even when they are telling you that they are mentally or physically not OK.

Your horse does not need to work a job in order to deserve the care that you provide.

They have always deserved it.

And it is pretty weird that you feel that this is a transactional relationship.

For the record, despite how unforgiving and cruel the world can be, you also deserve to have your needs met even when you cannot work.

So, perhaps this time we change the paradigm instead of enabling and normalizing harm.

08/02/2026

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